Why do you (still) shoot LF?

[Charles Carstensen]

It's the challenge of self discipline in creating the image in my mind long before pressing the shutter release. Then, the wait to physically see the result. It is magical - every time.

[Lucas M]

I shoot large format because I really enjoy it.
Seriously, it fits perfect with me and my contemplative introspective view of the world.

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

It's the challenge of self discipline in creating the image in my mind long before pressing the shutter release. Then, the wait to physically see the result. It is magical - every time.

Ah.... I am not alone...

[BradS]

I think it is mainly because LF affords one so many exquisite ways to screw up. I get a thrill if I am able to produce a printable negative or slide.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Image quality particularly of contact prints, alt processes, control of development, camera movements, ability to use classic lenses for the formats they were designed for, easier to retouch big negs.

It's not all contemplative. I shoot Weegee style too.

[Norm Buchanan]

If you you want big beautiful prints you need a big negative.

[alec4444]

I wouldn't exactly say that I enjoy the slow pace but rather that I like the formality of it all. I like that I have to be considerate in a way that is not necessary when shooting film in rolls. There is also a certain amount of toil involved which to me feels like work which is a feeling that I like.

Also, seeing the image on the ground glass is not the same thing as seeing it in a viewfinder. You get to step back a bit and think. The upside down and backwards image offers just the right amount of abstraction as well. It offers perspective, like being removed from the scene. It's like looking back at an event after a period of time has passed, you get a new view of that scene because of that passage of time, you get a new perspective. That's what a ground glass view camera image does for me it lets me step back both physically and emotionally.

Well said. The only thing I'd add is that to me, shooting large format makes me feel that I'm practicing a craft again. Not "arts and crafts" mind you, but the type of craft that used to spawn "masters" and "apprentices". The type of photography where time, practice, consistency & patience yield true results; not in weeks or months but over years. And nothing like my day job makes me wish more that I practiced a craft for a living.

--A

[Jim Fitzgerald]

For the contact prints in 8x10 and 8x20. There is also something very special about a nice print from a good 4x5 neg that is enlarged. Also, it fits my vision.

Jim

[John Kasaian]

It's funner

I have hundreds if not thousands of snapshots made with lesser formats. A lot of them are pretty nice, but for the life of me I cannot recall much about how they were made.

OTOH each large format print I've ever made comes with a mental recollection of the day, the weather, the lens, the f/stop, the shutter speed, mixing the chemicals and what kind of beer I had with lunch.
Nothing else in photography that I've experienced is remotely like that!

[Brian Ellis]

If you can not see the difference in print quality between 4X5 and 5X7 formats compared to DSLR up to about 16 mp, in any size over about 16X20, you may be suffering from old age eyes.

Consider cataract surgery if this condition continues.

Sandy King

Thanks for the medical advice, I'll consider the source and take it for what it's worth. But just so you know - I don't print larger than 16x20.